Method and apparatus for sampling urine

ABSTRACT

A method and an apparatus (26) for sampling urine at a toilet equipped with a standard water closet bowl fixture. An elongated urine sampling vessel (96) extending transversely of the bowl fixture is used. While supported in such a manner that the axis thereof extends horizontally and perpendicular to the vertical central plane of the bowl fixture, the urine sampling vessel (96) is moved along the inner surface of the bowl (16) of the fixture and is brought to an optimum sampling position in the bowl space (16A). As the urine sampling vessel is adapted to any fore-and aft and lateral deviation of the direction of urination of an individual, urine is effectively sampled even by a sampling vessel which is small in size. The sampling vessel (96) is mounted to an end of a swing arm (94) having a horizontal pivot axis. In a simplest form of embodiment, only rotational movement is imparted to the swing arm (94). In a more sophisticated embodiment, the sampling vessel is brought to the sampling position by the rotational and translational movements of the swing arm. After use, the sampling vessel is stored in a washing chamber (162) substantially concealed by the frontal part of a toilet seat (24) and is washed by water under pressure ejected from a spray nozzle (184). In a preferred embodiment, a urine sampling apparatus (26) is mounted to the toilet seat.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for in situsampling urine excreted by the individuals at a toilet installed inresidences, offices or other facilities to obtain urine sample for usein urine analysis. More specifically, the present invention relates to amethod and an apparatus capable of sampling urine at a toilet equippedwith a standardized water closet bowl fixture commercially available onthe market.

BACKGROUND ART

In view of the trends for longevity of the individuals, the importanceof health care and maintenance has been receiving increasing attention.As urine is an important source of information that represents thehealth conditions of an individual, various dysfunction such aspancreatic disorders (typically, diabetes), hypohepatia, and kidneydisorders can be detected advantageously in a non-invasive manner byperforming quantitative analysis of certain urine constituents, such asglucose, protein, urobilinogen, occult blood and other substances.Accordingly, proposed in the art are toilets having a urinalysisfunction which are capable of performing sampling and analysis of urineso as to assist the individuals in rendering their health check bymaking use of toilets provided in residences, offices and otherfacilities.

For instance, JP-A-59-217844 of Toto Ltd., U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,431 toIkenaga et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,550 to Ikenaga et al., U.S. Pat. No.4,982,741 to Saito et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,500 to Saito et al., U.S.Pat. No. 5,111,539 to Hiruta et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,359 toTsutamura et al., propose to form a urine sampling cavity or samplingwell on the bowl surface of a water closet bowl fixture to sample aquantity of urine excreted into the toilet bowl, the urine sample beingsubjected to urinalysis by way of liquid chromatographic process,colorimetric analysis process, or polarographic or voltammetric process.

The advantage of these sampling systems which are designed to make useof the urine sampling cavity or sampling well formed on the bowl surfaceis that urine excreted into the toilet bowl is received and collected bya considerably wide surface area of the bowl so that urine is readilysampled regardless of the direction of urination or the variation in thetrajectory of urine column. Therefore, an adequate quantity of urinenecessary for urinalysis can easily be sampled even in the case ofelderly people who are apt to suffer from the shortage of the amount ofurine per urination.

However, the problem associated with these systems is that they requirea special-purpose toilet bowl fixture provided with a urine samplingcavity or well formed on the bowl surface for the purposes of samplingof urine so that a standard-type toilet bowl fixture having theconventional bowl configuration cannot be used. Accordingly, in order tosample urine and perform urinalysis at a toilet of residence, office orother facility, the existing conventional bowl fixture must first beremoved and then a special purpose bowl fixture envisioned for samplingand urinalysis must be installed. This involves a great deal of laborand expenses for reform works and necessitates to discard the existingbowl fixture.

Furthermore, as such special purpose toilet bowl fixtures must bemanufactured specially and separately from standard-type toilet bowls,it is difficult to produce them via the mass production process. As aresult, these systems are too expensive to be installed widely inregular households and offices.

Another disadvantage is the difficulty in obtaining a good urinespecimen since residual flushing water remaining in the urine samplingcavity of the bowl surface after flushing of the bowl tends to dilutethe fresh urine to be sampled. Similarly, the fresh urine sample issusceptible to contamination by residual urine and feces since the urinesampling section is formed on the bowl surface.

In FIG. 4 of JP-A-62-187253 of K.K. Inax, there is disclosed a samplingapparatus wherein a swing arm supporting an excrement sampling vessel isrotated along the bowl surface of a toilet bowl fixture to sample urineor other excrement. The bowl is provided at the rear part thereof with acavity serving as a testing region, the excrement sampling vessel beingmoved after sampling into the testing region wherein excrement issubjected to analysis. After use, the sampling vessel is washed in thesame rear region. This apparatus also requires a special purpose bowlfixture provided at the rear part with the testing region and alsosuffers from the disadvantage that a standard toilet bowl fixture cannotbe used.

JP-A-3-139334 of Matsushita Denko K.K. discloses a urine sampling andanalyzing apparatus having a wheeled main body which is intended to bepulled aside of the toilet bowl fixture when in use and to be moved awayinto a non-obstructive location such as the corner of the toilet roomwhen not in use. The main body supports a urine sampling cup in atelescoping fashion so that, when urine is to be sampled, the urinesampling cup is moved into the bowl through a gap defined between thetoilet bowl and the toilet seat. A testing strip is dipped into theurine sample sampled by the sampling cup and is tested for urinalysis.

The advantage of this apparatus is that urine can be sampled by using astandard-type toilet bowl fixture.

However, the problem involved in this apparatus is that the wheeled mainbody as placed on the toilet floor occupies the toilet floor andtherefore hinders cleaning of the toilet as well as routine use of thetoilet for the purposes of excretion. Handling and manipulation of theapparatus is cumbersome because, each time the apparatus is used, themain body must be moved toward and away from the toilet bowl in order toposition the apparatus in a non-obstructive location after use.

Furthermore, the position of the sampling cup is so high that the cupinterferes with or comes too close to the body of the user as seated onthe toilet seat because the sampling cup is inserted through the gapbetween the bowl and the toilet seat in the lateral direction to extendabove the bowl. Moreover, the user must control the position of the mainbody of the apparatus by the hands to ensure that the sampling cup isproperly positioned to meet the trajectory of falling urine. As aresult, sampling of urine is extremely difficult to perform so thatthere is a risk of failure of sampling.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,636,474 to Ogura et al., JP-A-60-117155 of Toshiba K.K.,and JP-U-1-136573 of Matsushita Denko K.K. disclose urinalysis apparatuswherein a swingable arm is mounted for pivoting movement to a toiletseat, with a urine sensor being arranged at the free end of the arm toanalyze urine upon contact with urine excreted into the bowl. Similarly,JP-A-60-233551 of Matsushita Denki Sangyo K.K. discloses a urinalysisdevice which comprises a casing adapted to be hanged on the rim of thebowl fixture, an arm extending from the casing into the bowl, aspoon-shaped urine sampling vessel mounted to the end of the arm, and aurine sensor arranged in the sampling vessel. These apparatus also enjoythe advantage that they can be used in combination with the standardtoilet bowl fixtures.

However, contacting the sensor directly with the original urine givesrise to several problems. Thus, in contrast to diagnosis by way of bloodwherein the hydrogen ion concentration (pH), the chlorine ionconcentration and the oxygen concentration are constantly conditioned toa high degree by various physiological organs, urine as an excrementfrom the human body is subject to a wide range of variations in the pH,the chlorine ion concentration and the oxygen concentration from sampleto sample so that it is difficult to perform a high degree of analysisfor a particular urinal constituent unless urine as sampled is dilutedby a buffer. In addition, contacting the sensor directly with theoriginal urine without dilution causes premature degradation of thesensor and reduces the service life thereof. Further, it is impossibleto perform urinalysis for a plurality of items because it is difficultto arrange a plurality of sensors at the end of the swingable arm.

JP-U-5-30764 of NOK K.K. proposes a health diagnostic apparatus which isadapted to sample a quantity of urine by a urine sampling mechanismattached to a toilet seat and to transfer it to an analyzer station forurinalysis. In order to sample urine excreted from the user seated onthe toilet seat by receiving it in mid air within the toilet bowl, aswingable arm is pivoted at an end thereof to the underside of thetoilet seat for swinging movement about a vertical axis, the other endof the arm being provided with a vertically elongated urine samplingcup. There is described that the arm may be rotated manually orelectrically. Urine sampled by the sampling cup is drawn by a manual orautomatic syringe and, after being mixed with liquid reagent, isforwarded to the measuring station including an absorptionspectrophotometer in which it is subjected to analysis.

This health diagnostic apparatus also enjoys the advantage of samplingurine by making use of an existing or standard toilet bowl fixturewithout requiring a specially-fabricated toilet bowl fixture, sinceurine is sampled in mid air by the sampling cup which is moved withinthe inner space of the bowl. Furthermore, a high degree of analysis canbe achieved as urine specimen is subjected to analysis after beingdiluted by the liquid reagent.

However, the problem of this apparatus is that it is difficult torealize a commercially feasible form of the urine sampling mechanism.For the urine sampling mechanism to be commercially feasible, severalperformances must be fulfilled.

More specifically, the direction of urination is subject to fluctuationdepending on the difference in the sexuality of the user to the extentthat in the case of a male the urine column tends to fall relativelyforwardly in contrast to a female whose urine column tends to fallrearwardly. In addition, the direction of urination varies fromindividual to individual so that the direction deviates each timedepending on the posture of the user as seated on the toilet seat. As aresult, the trajectory of the urine column tends to deflect in thefore-and-aft direction as well as in the lateral direction. However, itis desirable that a urine sampling mechanism be capable of reliably andreadily sampling urine regardless of any fluctuation in the trajectoryof urine column that would result due to the sexual difference of theuser or due to the variation in the posture of the user as seated on thetoilet seat. This is particularly important when the total quantity ofurine per urination is limited as is the case of elderly people who haveincreasing needs for urinalysis.

In order to sample urine without failure despite the occurrence of sucha fluctuation in the trajectory of urine column, it would be desirablethat the sampling vessel be made as large in size as possible.Otherwise, the chance of sampling would be lost if the urine columnunfortunately fails to hit right on the sampling vessel. On the otherhand, however, it is also desirable that, when not in use, the samplingvessel be readily stored in a non-obstructive place situated, forexample, underneath the toilet seat, because the toilet must also beused for the purposes of routine excretion insofar as the urine samplingis performed by making use of a standard toilet fixture. To this end,therefore, another requirement imposed on the design of the urinesampling vessel is that it must be made sufficiently small in size andmust be designed in such a form that facilitates storage. The urinesampling mechanism proposed in JP-U-5-30764 is difficult to meet withthese opposing requirements because a cylindrical sampling cup elongatedin the vertical direction is adopted.

Furthermore, with the urine sampling mechanism disclosed inJP-U-5-30764, it is impossible to move the sampling cup along thecentral plane of the bowl fixture since the urine sampling cup isdisplaced along an arcuate path around a vertical pivot axis. If thesampling cup is rotated so as to follow the deviation of the fallposition of urine column in the fore-and-aft direction, the position ofthe sampling cup will undesirably be shifted in the lateral direction.As a result, it is difficult to sample excreted urine effectively andwithout failure.

It is also desirable that sampling of urine may be carried out with aneasy posture. In this regard, it will be noted that a part of thebuttocks will slightly sag beyond the seat due to body weight as theuser is seated on the toilet seat. Since in the diagnostic apparatuscited above, the swing arm is mounted to the toilet seat and is adaptedto rotate about a vertical pivot axis, the path of the sampling cup asit is rotated is so high that the sampling cup interferes with thebuttocks of the user or, in the case of male, the penis. Practically,therefore, it would be difficult for the user to avoid interference withthe sampling cup unless the user urinates while lifting the buttocksaway from the toilet seat.

It is further desirable that the urine sampling vessel soiled by urinebe thoroughly washed and cleansed after use. Otherwise, residual urineof previous urination would contaminate fresh urine sample duringsubsequent sampling thereby precluding to obtain a good urine specimennecessary to perform a high degree of urinalysis. Furthermore, thesampling vessel soiled by residual urine gives rise to bad odor andunhygienic feeling.

It is considered that the urine sampling mechanism of JP-U-5-30764 isnot suitable to meet with these requirements and, for this reason, isnot commercialized as yet.

It is also desirable that the urine sampling mechanism be readilymounted to a toilet seat without impairing the mechanical strength andsealability of the seat. In this regard, however, severe designingrequirements are imposed when a urine sampling mechanism is to beinstalled to a toilet seat. Thus, in the conventional toilet, only alimited gap as small as about 1.5-2 cm is available between the lowersurface of the toilet seat and the upper surface of the rim of thetoilet bowl. The radial space available within the bowl to arrange theurine sampling mechanism is also limited. As a result, in order toinstall a urine sampling mechanism by utilizing such extremely narrowlimited gap and space, severe dimensional restrictions and restraintsare imposed on the design of the urine sampling mechanism. If the urinesampling mechanism were designed small enough to be readily accommodatedwithin such a narrow gap, the urine sampling mechanism would becomequite refined and delicate so that the durability of the movable partsthereof and the reliability of operation would be decreased. Inaddition, as the urine sampling cup is made smaller, the aperturethereof for receiving urine would be reduced which, in turn, decreasesthe probability of urine sampling. Accordingly, the probability ofsampling must be sacrificed if the urine sampling mechanism is to bemade small and compact.

If, to the contrary, the urine sampling mechanism is to be made larger,then an existing toilet seat must be subjected to substantial processingand machining works, such as by cutting away a part thereof, in order toinstall the mechanism in a swingable manner within the narrow spacedefined between the lower surface of the toilet seat and the uppersurface of the rim of the toilet bowl. In that event, installation ofthe urine sampling mechanism would be complicated and difficult toperform thereby increasing the amount of work and expense involved. Inaddition, by tampering with the toilet seat, the reliability of theoperation of the urine sampling mechanism is reduced and the mechanicalstrength of the seat is impaired.

Accordingly, the primary object of the present invention is to provide amethod and an apparatus for sampling urine at a toilet equipped with aconventional standard water closet bowl fixture, which are capable ofsampling urine readily and without failure regardless of a fluctuationin the trajectory of urine column that would occur in the fore-and-aftdirection or in the lateral direction due to the sexual difference ofthe user or due to the variation in the posture of the user as seated onthe toilet seat.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method and an apparatusfor sampling urine which are capable of effectively sampling urine whilemaking use of a urine sampling vessel designed in such a form as tofacilitate storage thereof when not in use.

A still another object of the invention is to provide a method and anapparatus for sampling urine which are capable of sampling urine withoutfailure even when the user urinates with an easy posture.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method and anapparatus for sampling urine which do not hinder cleaning and routineuse of the toilet.

Another object of the invention is to provide a urine sampling apparatuswhich is commercially feasible.

Another object of the invention is to provide a urine sampling apparatusequipped with a cleansing device which is operable to wash the urinesampling vessel after use to keep it clean and which is small andcompact in size.

Commercially available standard toilet bowl fixtures have a variety ofbowl surface configuration that varies from model to model so that somemodels are provided with a raised bowl surface configuration whereasother models have a deeply depressed bowl surface configuration. If thepath or locus of the urine sampling vessel were designed and determinedin conformity with those toilet bowl fixtures having a deeply depressedbowl surface configuration in such a manner that the urine samplingvessel is rotated along the bowl surface down to the bottom centralregion of the bowl, the sampling vessel would interfere with the bowlsurface of the other bowl fixtures having a raised bowl surfaceconfiguration. Accordingly, another object of the invention is toprovide a urine sampling apparatus which is able to readily adjust thepath of the sampling vessel in conformity with various bowl surfaceconfiguration of commercially available standard toilet bowl fixtures.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for samplingurine excreted by an individual seated on a toilet seat at a toiletequipped with a standard water closet bowl fixture. The feature of theurine sampling method and apparatus according to the invention residesin the use of an elongated urine sampling vessel that extends in asubstantially horizontal fashion. While holding the urine samplingvessel in such a manner that the axis thereof extends substantiallyhorizontally and substantially perpendicular to the vertical centralplane of the toilet bowl fixture, the urine sampling vessel is movedalong the inner surface of the bowl and is brought to a urine samplingposition located within the inner space of the bowl thereby to sampleurine excreted into the bowl. Preferably, the urine sampling vessel ismoved such that the longitudinal center of the urine sampling vessel issituated in the vertical central plane of the bowl fixture. After use,the urine sampling vessel is stored in a storage position substantiallyconcealed by the frontal part of the toilet seat and is washed withwater under pressure ejected from a spray nozzle.

As in this manner a transversely-extending elongated sampling vessel isused and because the sampling vessel is held in such a manner that thelongitudinal axis thereof extends perpendicular to the vertical centralplane of the bowl fixture, the sampling vessel will lie for apredetermined length thereof in a substantially transverse directionwith respect to the direction of urination of the user. As a result,even though the direction of urination is deviated laterally to somedegree from the vertical central plane of the bowl fixture, the urinecolumn will fall within the coverage of the transverse length of thesampling vessel whereby urine is effectively sampled.

With respect to any deviation of urine column that would occur in thefore-and-aft direction of the bowl fixture, the sampling vessel maypromptly be brought to an optimum sampling position by swinging thesampling vessel in the fore-and-aft direction. Accordingly, in the eventthat the direction of urination is deviated in the fore-and-aftdirection due to the difference in sexuality or physical features of theuser, the sampling vessel may readily be adjusted to compensate for anysuch deviation. It is preferable that urine sampling for a male iscarried out with the sampling vessel positioned at a sampling positionsituated adjacent the inclined frontal wall of the bowl and that urinesampling for a female is carried out with the sampling vessel positionedat a sampling position situated adjacent the bottom region of the bowlbetween the inclined frontal wall of the bowl and a discharge well.

Since the urine sampling vessel is adapted in this way in the lateraldirection as well as in the fore-and-aft direction so as to cover anydeviation of urine column in consideration of the tendencies ofurination that are exhibited at a toilet by different individuals, it ispossible to sample urine without failure while using a sampling vesselwhich is small in size. Consequently, urine may readily be sampled bymaking use of a standard toilet bowl fixture, without recourse to aspecial-purpose toilet bowl fixture wherein a sampling cavity is formedon the bowl surface for a wide surface area. Because the sampling vesselis transversely elongated, the sampling vessel when not in use mayreadily be stored in a narrow space defined between the frontal part ofthe toilet seat and the upper surface of the bowl or in a storagechamber located inwardly of the frontal part of the rim of the bowlfixture.

The elongated sampling vessel is moved between a rest or storageposition and a sampling position by a swing arm and a drive mechanismtherefor, the sampling vessel being preferably detachably mounted to thefree end of the swing arm.

In a simplest form of the urine sampling apparatus according to theinvention, the swing arm is pivotally supported by a frame supported bythe standard toilet bowl fixture and is rotated preferably by anelectric drive including an electric motor. The frame may be mounted tothe toilet seat, to a housing mounted to the bowl fixture, or to the rimof the toilet bowl. As the sampling vessel is displaced along the innersurface of the bowl, the sampling vessel does not interfere with thebody of the user seated on the toilet seat. Accordingly, the samplingapparatus of the invention is comfortable to use and any inadvertentdamage that my occur on the movable parts of the electrical drive due tocontact with the user's body is avoided.

In a more sophisticated form of the urine sampling apparatus of theinvention, the electric drive is designed to impart to the swing arm arotational movement about a horizontal axis as well as a translationalmovement in the fore-and-aft direction in such a manner that thesampling vessel is moved along any desired path. In this form, thesampling vessel when not in use may be stored in a narrow space locatedbetween the frontal part of the rim of the bowl and the toilet seat. Forsampling of urine released from a male user, the sampling vessel may beplaced in position by displacing the sampling vessel horizontally andrearwardly away from the storage position and by rotating it along theinclined surface of the frontal part of the bowl. In the case of afemale user, the sampling vessel may be positioned by displacing thesampling vessel further horizontally and rearwardly along the bottomsurface of the bowl by way of a translational movement.

As the sampling vessel is thus moved in combination by the rotationalmovement and the translational movement, it is possible to preciselyadapt the sampling vessel to any deviation of urine column taking placein the fore-and-aft direction. Such movements also permit to store thesampling vessel after use in a narrow space defined between the frontalpart of the rim of the bowl and the toilet seat.

Preferably, the drive mechanism for the swing arm includes a slider anda lever and cam mechanism. With this arrangement, the path or locus ofthe sampling vessel may be altered by simply modifying the cam profileso that the path of the sampling vessel can readily be adapted in such amanner as to conform with various different bowl surface configurationsof the commercially available standard toilet bowl fixtures.

The slider is preferably translated by a pinion and rack mechanismdriven by a motor. With this arrangement, a single motor may be used toimpart the rotational movement as well as the translational movement tothe sampling vessel so that the urine sampling apparatus is madecompact.

In the embodiment wherein the frame of the urine sampling apparatus ismounted to the toilet seat, the toilet seat is preferably provided atthe lower surface thereof with a downwardly directed concavity in whichat least a part of the electrical drive is accommodated. Thisarrangement enables to increase the size of the electrical drive so thata urine sampling apparatus which is robust and which has an improvedoperational reliability is realized. In addition, the urine samplingapparatus may be mounted to the toilet seat without impairing themechanical strength and the sealability of the toilet seat.

Also, in the embodiment wherein the frame of the urine samplingapparatus is mounted to the toilet seat, the frame is preferably curvedto extend along the toilet seat in such a manner that it issubstantially concealed by the toilet seat in the horizontal position ofthe toilet seat. It is preferable that the frame is confined within avertical gap defined between the upper surface of the rim of the bowland the lower surface of the toilet seat. With this arrangement, thetoilet seat as incorporating the urine sampling apparatus presents animproved appearance. Furthermore, a robust yet compact urine samplingapparatus can be realized while retaining the mechanical strength of thetoilet seat.

In a preferred embodiment, the urine sampling vessel has a generallyflat configuration and is provided with a rectangular inlet openingwhich extends transversely of the toilet bowl fixture in a directionsubstantially perpendicular to the radius of the swing arm. The samplingvessel has a urine pool or sump arranged at the rear part thereof, thefront wall of the vessel being preferably inclined toward the urinepool. With this arrangement, the urine sampling vessel when held in ahorizontal position provides a maximum content and effectively receivesurine excreted into the bowl. When held in a vertical position, thefore-and-aft dimension of the sampling vessel is shortened so that it isreadily stored in a narrow washing chamber.

These features and advantages of the invention, as well as otherfeatures and advantages thereof, will become apparent from the followingdescription made with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a urinalysis unit provided with aurine sampling apparatus according to the first embodiment of theinvention as mounted to a standard water closet bowl fixture of atoilet;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a housing of the urinalysisunit illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view, partly cut away, of a toiletseat assembly shown in FIG. 1 and wherein the urine sampling apparatusis incorporated;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the urine sampling apparatus of the toilet seatassembly shown in FIG. 3, with the toilet seat, a cam plate and aswingable cover being removed and with the toilet seat and the toiletbowl fixture being shown by the phantom line and the dotted line,respectively;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged exploded perspective view, partly cut away, of apart of the swing arm drive shown in FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VI--VI of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the urine sampling vessel mounted to theswing arm;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VIII--VIII of FIG.7;

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line IX--IXof FIG. 4 and showing the swing arm and the urine sampling vessel invarious different positions;

FIG. 10 is a plan view, partly cut away, of an actuating mechanism for awashing chamber cover shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing a part of the actuatingmechanism for the washing chamber cover;

FIG. 12 is a schematic elevational view showing the toilet seat in itsswung-up position;

FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the lineXIII--XIII of FIG. 8 and schematically showing the inclination of aurine suction pipe under different angular positions of the swing arm;

FIGS. 14-16 are schematic views showing various paths of the urinesampling vessel;

FIG. 17 is a plan view showing a modified form of the swing arm;

FIG. 18 is a schematic view showing a fluid transfer system of theurinalysis unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a control unit and a control circuit ofthe urinalysis unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the operation of the urinalysis unitshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view, partly cut away, of the second embodimentof the urine sampling apparatus according to the invention, with thetoilet seat being shown as being in its swung-up position;

FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XXII--XXII ofFIG. 21;

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a urinalysis unit provided with thethird embodiment of the urine sampling apparatus according to theinvention;

FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XXIV--XXIV ofFIG. 23;

FIG. 25 is a perspective view, partly cut away, showing the fourthembodiment of the urine sampling apparatus according to the invention,with the toilet seat being shown by a phantom line;

FIG. 26 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the lineXXVI--XXVI of FIG. 25;

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of the toilet seat of FIG. 25 as reversed;

FIG. 28 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the lineXXVIII--XXVIII of FIG. 25;

FIG. 29 is a side elevational view of the swing arm shown in FIG. 25,with the sampling vessel being shown partly cut away to show an inclinedside wall of the sampling vessel;

FIG. 30 is an enlarged perspective view, partly cut away, of thesampling vessel shown in FIG. 25; and,

FIG. 31 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XXXI--XXXI ofFIG. 25 and showing the swing arm and the urine sampling vessel invarious different positions.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The urine sampling method and apparatus according to the invention willbe described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.The first embodiment of the urine sampling apparatus according to theinvention wherein the urine sampling apparatus is mounted to the toiletseat will first be described with reference to FIGS. 1-20.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the toilet 10 is provided with a standard watercloset bowl fixture 12 which is installed on the toilet floor in theconventional manner. A urinalysis unit 14 provided with the urinesampling apparatus according to the invention is mounted to the toiletbowl fixture 12 to sample urine of an individual at the toilet and tosubject it to urinalysis. The urinalysis unit 14 may be mounted to anystandardized toilet bowl fixture available on the market, includingvortex type, siphon type, siphon jet type, and wash-down type. Thestandard bowl fixture is provided with a conventional bowl 16 and aflushing water supply section 18 located rearwardly of the bowl. In theillustrated embodiment, the flushing water supply section comprises acistern mounting section 18 to which a conventional cistern 20 ismounted in a conventional manner. The urine sampling method andapparatus according to the invention may equally be applicable to atoilet having a toilet bowl fixture of the type in which flushing wateris supplied through a flushing pipe equipped with a flushing valveinstead of a cistern.

The toilet includes a housing 22 which is fixed to the bowl fixture 12as described later and a toilet seat 24 which is pivotally hinged to thehousing 22. In the first embodiment illustrated, the toilet seat 24 isprovided with a urine sampling apparatus 26 according to the inventionwhich is adapted to sample urine in mid air within the inner space 16Aof the bowl, the toilet seat 24 and the sampling apparatus 26 formingtogether a built-in toilet seat assembly 28 (referred-to hereinafter as"toilet seat assembly"). The toilet seat assembly 28 is preferablyprefabricated by assembling the urine sampling apparatus 26 to aspecially made toilet seat 24. A conventional toilet lid 30 may also behinged to the housing. A control unit 32 for controlling the urinalysisunit 14 and for outputting the results of urinalysis may be disposed onthe side wall of the toilet.

As shown in FIG. 2, the housing 22 of the urinalysis unit 14 maycomprise, for example, a frame 34, an upper casing 36 and a pair oflower casings 38 and 40. These component parts of the housing 22 may beformed by injection molding of plastics and may be fastened together byscrews and the like to form an integral housing 22. As shown in FIG. 2,the conventional standard toilet bowl fixture 12 is generally provided,between the bowl 16 and the flushing water supply section 18, with apair of seat mounting holes 42 for use in mounting the conventionaltoilet seat. The housing 22 of the urinalysis unit 14 is also secured tothe bowl fixture 12 by making use of these holes 42. To this end, theframe 34 of the housing 22 is fixed on the upper surface 48 of the bowlfixture 12 between the bowl 16 and the cistern mounting section 18 byengaging a pair of T-bolts 44 into a pair of T-shaped slots formed onthe underside of the frame 34 as described in JP-Y-63-6291 and byinserting the T-bolts 44 through the seat mounting holes 42 followed byscrewing associated nuts 46.

As best shown in FIG. 2, the frame 34 has a central portion extendingtransversely of the bowl fixture 12 and a pair of lateral portionsextending forwardly from the ends of the central portion, the uppercasing 36 being shaped to conform to the frame 34. Accordingly, theframe 34, the upper casing 36 and the lower casings 38 and 40 concerttogether to form the central portion 22C, left-hand lateral portion 22Land the right-hand lateral portion 22R of the housing 22 as shown inFIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, within the left lateral portion 22L of the housing,there may be arranged a urinalysis device 50 for analyzing the urinesample sampled by the urine sampling apparatus 26, an electricallydriven syringe pump 52 for transferring urine sample and carrier liquidto the urinalysis device 50, a carrier liquid reservoir 54, and areservoir 56 for calibration solution. The urinalysis device 50 mayinclude a flow cell suitable for polarographic or colorimetric analysis.A digital sphygmomanometer unit 58 may additionally be arranged on theleft-hand portion 22L of the housing to enable the user to monitor theartery blood pressure by engaging the left second finger of the user.The digital sphygmomanometer unit 58 need not be described as it doesnot form part of the invention. In the illustrated embodiment, aconventional bidet system 62 having a spray nozzle 60 for producing anupwardly directed spray to wash the perineal part of the user, aconventional hot-air blower and drier unit 64, and a conventionaldeodorizer unit 66 with an ozonizer are arranged within the centralportion 22C to provide additional functions when the toilet 10 with theurinalysis unit 14 is used for routine purposes. However, theseadditional functions are not indispensable for the purpose of thepresent invention and may therefore be omitted. A power source 68 forthe urinalysis unit 14 and a control panel 70 for the bidet system maybe stored within the right lateral portion 22R of the housing.

Referring primarily to FIGS. 3-9, the toilet seat assembly 28 comprisedof the toilet seat 24 and the urine sampling apparatus 26 incorporatedthe rein will be described. In the illustrated embodiment, the toiletseat 24 is designed and manufactured in an attempt to incorporate theurine sampling apparatus 26 the rein and, accordingly, has a designsuitable to meet with this purpose. As shown cut away in FIG. 3, thetoilet seat 24 may be formed from an upper half 24A and a lower half 24Bof impact resistive plastics which are joined together by high-frequencyfusion bonding, with an electric heater wire 72 for heating the toiletseat being arranged as required. The seat 24 may be pivotally mounted tothe housing 22 by a suitable hinge. Preferably, the seat 24 is mountedto the housing 22 by journaling the hinge portion 74 thereof by aretainer block 75 as described in Japanese Utility Model Application No.5-19341 and by engaging the retainer block 75 within a bearing portion76 (FIG. 2) of the housing 22.

In order to accommodate the toilet seat to any sintering distortion thatmay be developed in the bowl fixture 12 as a result of sintering processduring the production thereof, the toilet seat 24 is preferablysupported at four points against the upper surface of the rim 78 of thebowl fixture 12 in a manner similar to the conventional toilet seat. Tothis end, a pair of support legs 80 with cushioning pads may be providedin the conventional manner at the underside of the seat 24 as shown bydotted line in FIG. 3. At the other two points, the toilet seat 24 issupported by a pair of legs 84 mounted to a casing or frame 82,described later, of the urine sampling apparatus. As will be understoodfrom FIGS. 6 and 9, due to the presence of the legs 80 or 84, an annulargap having a height of about 1.5-2 cm is left between the upper surface86 of the rim 78 of the bowl fixture and the lower surface 88 of theseat 24. By making use of a part of the annular gap, the frame 82 of theurine sampling apparatus 26 is arranged and the urine sampling vessel ofthe sampling apparatus 26 is accommodated the rein as described later.Furthermore, as will be apparent from FIGS. 3, 6 and 9, the toilet seat24 is provided at the underside thereof with a pair of downwardlydirected concavities 90 and 92 so as to accommodate part of thecomponents of the urine sampling apparatus 26 as described later.

In the first embodiment illustrated, the urine sampling apparatus 26 isgenerally designed such that a quantity of urine released into the bowl16 of the bowl fixture 12 is received in mid air in the inner space 16Aof the bowl by a urine sampling vessel and that after sampling thesampling vessel is returned to a storage position underneath the toiletseat and is automatically washed with water. Referring to FIGS. 3-9, inthe embodiment shown, the urine sampling apparatus 26 includes agenerally crank-shaped swing arm 94, an elongated urine sampling vessel96 detachably mounted to the free end of the swing arm, an electricaldrive 98 for supporting and driving the swing arm 94, and the frame 82for the urine sampling section, the drive 98 being mounted to the frame82. The swing arm 94 may be formed by a central elbow 100, an end elbow102, a pipe 104 connecting these elbows, and a spindle 106, as shown inFIGS. 5 and 8.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, in the illustrated embodiment, the urinesampling vessel 96 may be comprised of a main body 112 having anelongated upper opening 108 and a trough-shaped cavity 110 and of a base114 having an enlarged diameter. The urine sampling vessel 96 issupported by the swing arm 94 in such a manner that the longitudinalaxis 96A (FIG. 7) thereof extends perpendicular to the vertical centralplane 12A (FIG. 4) of the bowl fixture. The urine sampling vessel 96 isdetachably and liquid tightly mounted to the end elbow 102 by means ofan O-ring 116 to permit the sampling vessel 96 to be removed from theswing arm 94 for cleaning and replacement.

The cavity 110 formed in the main body is inclined toward the base 114to ensure that urine fallen down into the cavity 110 is accumulatedwithin a urine pool or sump 118 defined by the base 114 and the elbow102. Preferably, the outer periphery of the main body 112 is covered bya metal screen 120 to prevent urine excreted by the user and impingingon the urine sampling vessel 96 from splashing backwards and toeffectively collect urine sample. Urine accumulated in the urine pool118 is forwarded via a flexible tube 122 extending through an innerpassage of the elbow 102 as well as through the swing arm 94 and itsspindle 106 to the urinalysis device 50 located in the housing 22 underthe action of the syringe pump 52 operating on its suction and deliverystrokes.

In order to ensure that only such urine that is free from air bubbles ispicked up for delivery to the urinalysis device so as to enhance thestability of analysis, it is desirable that urine be drawn from thebottom of the urine pool 118. To this end, the elbow 102 is providedwith an L-shaped suction pipe 124 which is open toward the bottom of theurine pool 118. A pair of vertically spaced electrodes 126 and 128 maybe provided on the elbow 102 to detect whether a sufficient amount ofurine has accumulated within the urine pool 118. These electrodes may beconnected via lead wires 130 to a control circuit of the urinalysisdevice 50 arranged in the lateral housing 22L to permit the controlcircuit to detect accumulation of urine in the urine pool 118 bymonitoring the electric resistance of the gap between the electrodes 126and 128. As the flexible tube 122 as well as the lead wires 130 arearranged to extend in part within the swing arm 94, the outerconfiguration of the swing arm 94 is simplified and any damage on theflexible tube 122 and the lead wires 130 is prevented.

Generally, in the illustrated embodiment, the drive 98 for the swing arm94 is adapted to impart a rotational movement as well as a translationalmovement to the swing arm 94 so as to move the urine sampling vessel 96from the storage position situated underneath the frontal part of thetoilet seat to various urine sampling positions, and vice versa, as bestshown in FIG. 9.

More specifically, referring to FIGS. 3-6, the drive 98 is arranged onthe frame 82 of the sampling apparatus suitably fixed to the undersideof the toilet seat 24 by screws, for example. The drive 98 includes aslider 132 slidably mounted to the frame 82, the slider being guided forsliding movement parallel to the central plane of the bowl fixture 12 bya pair of guide rails 134 secured to the frame 82. Secured to the slider132 is a rack 136 with which is engaged a pinion 140 mounted to theoutput shaft of a stepping motor 138 provided with a reduction gearmechanism and fixed to the frame 82. Accordingly, rotation of the motor138 in either direction will cause back-and-forth translational movementof the slider 132. The motor 138 is controlled by the control circuit,described later.

The swing arm 94 is rotatably journaled to the slider 132 and issupported by the slider for sliding movement conjointly therewith. Tothis end, the slider 132 is provided with a pair of trunnion bearings142 as shown in FIG. 5 to rotatably support the spindle 106 of the swingarm 94. The spindle 106 has an axial bore through which the flexibletube 122 and the lead wires 130 are extended.

The drive 98 is further provided with a lever and cam mechanism 144 thatcontrols the angular position of the swing arm 94 in such a manner thatthe angular position of the urine sampling vessel 96 is in turncontrolled in response to the back-and-forth movement of the slider 132caused by rotation of the motor 138. As best shown in FIG. 5, a lever146 is mounted over the spindle 106 of the swing arm 94 between thebearings 142 for rotation integrally with the spindle and a cam follower148 in the form of a roller is supported at the end of the lever 146.The cam follower 148 is adapted to cooperate with a camplate 150suitably secured to the frame 82 by screws and the like, the cam plate150 being formed with a pair of staggered horizontal cam surfaces 152and 154 and an inclined cam surface 156. An end of a coiled returnspring 158 is fixed to the spindle 106 of the swing arm 94, the otherend thereof being engaged with the bearing 142. The return spring 158 ispreloaded such that the swing arm 94 is biased in the clockwisedirection as viewed in FIG. 9. The initial angular position of the swingarm 94 is dictated by a stopper, not shown.

The frame 82 carrying the swing arm 94 and the associated drive 98 ofthe urine sampling apparatus 26 is rigidly secured to the toilet seat 24by screws and the like to form the integral toilet seat assembly 28incorporating the urine sampling apparatus. As the toilet seat 24 isformed on the underside thereof with the prefabricated concavity 90 thatcorresponds in shape to the drive 98 as shown in FIGS. 3, 6 and 9, thecomponent parts of the drive 98 such as the motor 138, the pinion 140,the camplate 150, the lever 146 and the cam follower 148 areaccommodated partly in this concavity 90. As in this manner the spaceavailable in the toilet seat 24 is effectively utilized to accommodatethe component parts of the urine sampling apparatus 26, it is possibleto implement these component parts in a robust design. The toilet seat24 provided with the concavity 90 may be manufactured on a massproduction basis by using injection molds and the toilet seat assembly28 may be assembled by incorporating the urine sampling apparatus 26 therein.

Referring primarily to FIG. 9, the operation of the urine samplingapparatus 26 will be described. When the urine sampling apparatus 26 isnot in use, the slider 132 is in the forward-most position so that thecam follower 148 is engaged with the first horizontal cam surface 152 ofthe camplate 150. As a result, the swing arm 94 is swung up under theaction of the return spring 158 so that the urine sampling vessel 96 isheld underneath the toilet seat 24 in the rest or storage position(position A) situated within the frame 82. With the urine samplingvessel in this position, the toilet seat assembly 28 may be swung up ordown whenever the toilet is to be used for the purposes of routineexcretion.

When the user is seated on the toilet seat 24 for the purposes ofsampling and analysis of urine and turns on a start switch of thecontrol unit 32, the motor 138 is rotated causing the rack and pinionmechanism 140/136 to commence the retracting movement of the slider 132whereby the urine sampling vessel 96 is first pulled out horizontallyand rearwardly from the storage position. As the cam follower 148engages the inclined cam surface 156 of the camplate 150, the lever 146starts to rotate the swing arm 94 (position B). As the cam follower 148rides further on the inclined cam surface 156, the swing arm is movedbackward while being rotated so that the urine sampling vessel 96 isdisplaced along the arcuate path or locus composed of the rotationalmovement and the translational movement as shown in FIG. 9. As the motor138 rotates further, the cam follower 148 comes to engage the secondhorizontal cam surface 154 of the cam plate 150 (position C), whereuponthe swing arm 94 commences translational movement while retaining itsangular position until it is brought to the rear extremity position D.

The locus of the sampling vessel 96 may be modified as required bychanging the cam profile of the camplate 150. For example, where thebowl fixture 12 has a low or depressed bowl surface configuration asshown by the dotted line 16B in FIG. 9, the cam profile may be designedsuch that the translational movement of the sampling vessel is commencedonly after rotation for an adequate angle as shown. Alternatively, inthe case of a raised bowl surface configuration as shown by the dottedline 16C, the cam profile may be selected such that the angle of therotational movement is reduced as compared with the locus shown in FIG.9 and the stroke of the translational movement is extended. In thismanner, the path or locus of the sampling vessel can be altered simplyby replacement of the camplate 150. As the path of the sampling vesselmay readily be adapted in conformity with any bowl surfaceconfiguration, the urine sampling apparatus 26 according to theinvention may be installed on any type of standard bowl fixturecommercially available on the market.

It will be noted that, generally, the direction of urination issusceptible to fluctuate depending on the difference in the sexuality ofthe user so that in the case of a male the urine column tends to fallrelatively forwardly in contrast to a female whose urine column tends tofall rearwardly. In addition, the direction of urination varies fromindividual to individual. Accordingly, it is preferable that the controlswitches for the motor 138 as well as the control circuit be arrangedand designed such that, in the case of a male, the urine sampling vessel96 is automatically brought to a predetermined position between thepositions B-C, whereas in the case of a female, the urine samplingvessel 96 is automatically brought to a predetermined position betweenthe positions C-D, as well as in such a manner that the user ispermitted to finely adjust the position of the urine sampling vessel. Asthe movement of the sampling vessel 96 between the positions B and C isdictated primarily by the rotational movement, the sampling vessel willdepict a locus which is defined closely along the bowl surfaceconfiguration of the inclined front wall 16D of the bowl 16.Consequently, by positioning the sampling vessel 96 at an appropriateposition between the positions B and C, sampling of urine from a maleuser may be readily carried out. Between the positions C and D, on theother hand, the sampling vessel will undergo the horizontaltranslational movement to depict a path which follows the surfaceconfiguration of the bowl bottom region situated between the inclinedfront wall 16D and the discharge well 16E. This is suitable for samplingof urine from a female user.

As in this manner the sampling vessel 96 is movable back and forth for awide range along the bowl surface, the sampling vessel 96 can be broughtto an optimum sampling position regardless of whether the user is maleor female. As a result, urine can be sampled without failure even if theuser urinates with an easy natural posture.

The user may commence urination toward the urine sampling vessel 96 asit is brought to an appropriate position. Because the sampling vessel 96is transversely elongated and is held to extend perpendicular to thevertical central plane 12A of the bowl fixture, the urine collectingtrough 110 may be implemented in such a form as to provide a transverseextent in the range of 5-10 cm, for example, in the direction transverseto the direction of urination. Accordingly, even though the direction ofurination is deviated laterally to some degree with respect to thevertical central plane of the bowl fixture, there is a high probabilityfor the urine column to fall within the coverage of the transverseextent of the urine collecting trough 110. As a result, urine iseffectively sampled.

Urine impinged upon the urine sampling vessel 96 will flow down alongthe trough 110 to accumulate in the urine pool 118. Urine thus sampledis sucked through the L-shaped suction pipe 124 and the flexible tube122 by the syringe pump 52 arranged in the housing 22. The urine sampleis then transferred to the urinalysis device 50 together with thecarrier liquid in the reservoir 54 and is subjected to the quantitativeanalysis. Suction of the urine sample may be commenced automaticallywhen, based on the signal from the electrodes 126 and 128, it isdetected that urine has accumulated in the urine pool 118 up to thelevel of the upper electrode 128.

Upon completion of sampling and transfer of urine to the urinalysisdevice, the motor 138 is rotated in a direction to move the slider 132forward whereby the urine sampling vessel 96 is returned to the positionB in response to the advance and upward rotation of the swing arm 94 andis thereafter returned to the storage position A in response to thetranslational movement of the swing arm. The urine sampling vessel 96stands by in this position. As the urine sampling vessel 96 is designedin an elongated form, it can be readily stored in a vertically narrowdefined between the lower surface 88 of the toilet seat 24 and the uppersurface 86 of the rim 78 of the toilet bowl fixture as shown in FIG. 9.As the sampling vessel 96 is thus moved to and away from the storageposition by the horizontal translational movement and is concealedunderneath the toilet seat 24 when not in use, the toilet is easy to usewhen served for the purposes of routine excretion.

It is desirable that after urine sampling, the urine sampling vessel 96soiled by urine be washed with water. To this end, the frame 82 isprovided with a housing 160 which cooperates with the lower surface ofthe seat 24 to form a washing chamber 162 as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 10 and11. A swingable cover 164 is pivoted to the washing chamber housing 160to open and close the gateway or entrance to the washing chamber 162.The cover 164 is biased by a coiled spring 166 to a normally openposition but is adapted to be closed by an actuating mechanism 168interlocked with the slider 132.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the actuating mechanism 168 includes a pushrod 170 adapted to be engaged by the slider 132, a pivoting lever 172, alink 174, another lever 176, a slidable bar 178, and a lever 182rotatable integrally with a pivot 180 for the cover 164, the arrangementbeing such that the cover 164 is opened as the sampling vessel moves outof the washing chamber 162 in response to the backward movement of theslider 132 and that the cover 164 is closed against the bias of thespring 166 when the sampling vessel 96 is returned to the storageposition in the washing chamber in response to the forward movement ofthe slider 132. As will be apparent from FIG. 9, the cover 164 isrotated by making use of the concavity 92 formed on the toilet seat 24.

As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a spray nozzle 184 is arranged anddirected toward the washing chamber 162 to eject water toward thesampling vessel 96 as placed in the storage position. The spray nozzle184 may be connected through a hose 86 and a solenoid valve, describedlater, to a water line 188 (FIG. 1) to supply water under pressure.Alternatively, the hose 186 may be connected to a water supply valve ofthe bidet system 62. As the sampling vessel 96 is returned aftersampling into the washing chamber 162, the solenoid valve is opened tosupply water under pressure to the spray nozzle 184 whereby the samplingvessel 96 is washed and cleansed. During washing, the gateway to thewashing chamber is closed by the cover 164 so that water is preventedfrom splashing outwardly of the washing chamber. Water ejected from thespray nozzle will be rebounded by the wall of the narrow washing chamberto effectively cleanse the sampling vessel 96. Since the sampling vessel96 is washed in this manner each time after use, a fresh urine specimenis obtainable so that a high degree of urinalysis is performed. Becausethe spray nozzle 184 is arranged laterally of the sampling vessel 96 ingenerally the same horizontal plane as the sampling vessel, it ispossible to arrange the spray nozzle 184, and to store the samplingvessel 96, within the washing chamber 162 of a limited verticaldimension confined between the rim 78 of the bowl and the toilet seat24. Accordingly, the urine sampling apparatus 26 can be made compact.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 10, the water supply hose 186 may be providedwith a T-joint 190 to which is connected a T-shaped spray nozzle 192disposed above the swing arm 94. With this arrangement, the swing arm 94is washed simultaneously with washing of the sampling vessel 96. A strip194 of flexible plastic material may be engaged with the spindle 106 ofthe swing arm 94 to prevent water sprayed by the swing arm washingnozzle 192 from entering into the drive 98 and to protect the latteragainst water.

Used washing water is discharged into the toilet bowl 16. To this end,the frame 82 of the sampling apparatus is provided with a pair ofdrainage troughs 196 extending rearwardly from the washing chamber 162along the sides of the rim 78, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. These drainagetroughs 196 are inclined rearwardly and downwardly as best shown in FIG.9 and are communicated at the rear ends with slanted drainage pipes 198mounted to the frame 82. Accordingly, when the toilet seat assembly 28is in the horizontal position, water ejected from the spray nozzle 184will flow rearwards along the inclined drainage troughs 196 and will bedischarged into the bowl 16 through the drainage pipes 198. Therefore,the sampling vessel 96 and the swing arm 94 may be washed even when theuser is seated on the toilet seat. As shown in FIG. 12, the drainagepipes 198 are so arranged as to project over the bowl when the toiletseat is swung up. Consequently, when the toilet seat 24 is swung up, anydroplets of residual washing water remaining in the troughs 196 will bedrained into the bowl 16 thereby avoiding fouling of the toilet floor.

As shown in FIG. 3, the frame 82 is provided at its rear end with arecess 200 in which an adapter or grommet 202 is fitted, the flexibletube 122 and the lead wires 130 extending from the swing arm 94 as wellas the water hose 186 being arranged to extend through the adapter. Dueto the presence of the adapter 202, the arrangement of the piping andwiring between the urine sampling apparatus 26 and the housing 22 issimplified and any damages that would otherwise occur on the piping andwiring during swinging of the toilet seat assembly 28 is avoided.

As described before with reference to FIG. 9, the swing arm 94 isadapted to be rotated for about 90° between the horizontal angularposition B and the roughly vertical position C to ensure that, in thecase of a male user, suction of urine through the suction pipe 124 isprimarily carried out with the sampling vessel being positioned at anappropriate angular position between the positions B-C, urine samplingfor a female user being preferably carried out with the sampling vesselpositioned at an appropriate position between the positions C-D. Theangular position of the suction pipe 124 will be varied in response tothe rotation of the swing arm 94. Accordingly, it is preferable that thesuction pipe 124 be arranged at such an angle that it is directeddownwards substantially vertically when the swing arm 94 is rotated atan angle of about 45°, as shown in FIG. 13. With this arrangement, theinlet of the suction pipe 124 will be located generally at the bottom ofthe urine pool 118 regardless of the variation in the angular positionof the sampling vessel 96 resulting from the difference in the sexualityof the user. This advantageously permits to draw urine free from airbubbles. It will also be noted that when the sampling vessel 96 isstored in the storage and washing chamber 162, the inclination of thesuction pipe 124 with respect to the vertical will be no greater than45°. Accordingly, after washing of the sampling vessel, it is possibleto suck and remove most of the residual water remaining in the urinepool 118 by operating the syringe pump 52 to apply a vacuum to thesuction pipe 124. Suction of the residual water is advantageous inpreventing clogging of urine sample transfer conduit as well as inpreventing urine sample from being diluted by the residual water duringsubsequent sampling.

In FIGS. 14-16, there are schematically shown different modes ofmovement of the swing arm 94 and the sampling vessel 96. In the modeshown in FIG. 14, the sampling vessel 96 when not in use is concealedunder the toilet seat 24 and is placed at a storage position E situatedinwardly of the inner periphery of the rim 78. The sampling vessel 96 ismoved from the position E to the position F by the rotational andtranslational movements and is moved from the position F to the positionG only by the translational movement. Such movement may be given to thesampling vessel 96 by eliminating or disabling the first horizontal camsurface 152 of the camplate 150.

In the mode shown in FIG. 15, the sampling vessel 96 is displacedbetween the storage position H and the operating position I only by therotational movement and is displaced between the positions I and J onlyby the horizontal translational movement. In this mode, necessarymovement may be given to the sampling vessel 96 by directly rotating theswing arm 94 by means of a separate motor and by translating the slider132 by means of a pinion and rack mechanism, a pulley and beltmechanism, a lead screw mechanism, a hydraulic cylinder mechanism or asolenoid mechanism.

In the mode illustrated in FIG. 16, the sampling vessel 96 is moved onlyby the horizontal translational movement between the positions K and L,only by the rotational movement between the positions L and M, only bythe horizontal translational movement between the positions M and N.Such movement may be generated by the combination of a rotary drivemechanism such as a motor and a translational drive mechanism such as apinion and rack mechanism.

FIG. 17 shows a modified form of the swing arm 94. In this form, theswing arm 94A is curved so as to conform with the inner contour of thetoilet seat. With this arrangement, the swing arm will remain concealedunder the toilet seat 24 when it is pulled rearwardly from the storageposition to the position in which rotation of swing arm takes place.Therefore, there is no risk that the swing arm is brought in contactwith the thigh of the user.

Referring to FIG. 18, other components of the urinalysis unit 14incorporating the urine sampling apparatus 26 according to the inventionwill be briefly described. The electrically driven syringe pump 52 isdesigned to transfer the urine sample as sampled by the samplingapparatus 26 and a carrier liquid to a polarographic flow cell 204 ofthe urinalysis device 50. As the syringe pump 52 and the flow cell 204do not form part of the invention, they need not be described in anydetail. Briefly, the syringe pump 52 includes a piston 210 reciprocatedby a stepping motor 206 and a lead screw mechanism 208 so as to draw anddeliver a fluid into and out of a pumping chamber 212. Coupled to thesyringe pump 52 is a rotary valve 218 having a rotary disc 216 driven byanother stepping motor 214. The rotary valve is adapted to selectivelyconnect the pumping chamber 212 of the syringe pump 52 to the flexibletube 122 from the carrier liquid reservoir 54, the reservoir for thecalibration solution, the cistern 20, or a discharge conduit 220. Theflow cell 204 may be designed, for example, to carry out quantitativeanalysis of glucose contained in the urine sample by way of thepolarographic process. A control circuit 222 for controlling the urinesampling apparatus 26, the syringe pump 52, the rotary valve 218 and theflow cell 20 may be mounted to a circuit board of the urinalysis device50 as shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 19 illustrates examples of the control unit 32 and the controlcircuit 222. The control unit 32 installed on the side wall of thetoilet may comprise a programmed microcomputer 300, a plurality ofcontrol switches 302, a liquid crystal display panel 304 for displayingvarious instructions to the user and the results of urinalysis, aprinter unit 306 for outputting the results of urinalysis and the trendsof data, and a flash memory device 308 for storing the data ofurinalysis. The control switches 302 may separately include a urinalysisstart switch 302a for male and a urinalysis start switch 302b forfemale, the arrangement being such that when the male's switch 302a isdepressed the urine sampling vessel 96 is automatically brought to apredetermined male's sampling position (e.g., an appropriate positionbetween the positions B-C of FIG. 9) and that when the female's switch302b is depressed the urine sampling vessel is brought to apredetermined female's sampling position (e.g., an appropriate positionbetween the positions C-D). The control switches 302 may further includea pair of fine adjustment switches 302c and 302d for finely displacingthe urine sampling vessel 96 in the fore-and-aft direction with respectto the predetermined male's or female's position in response to theinstructions of the user.

The control circuit 222 includes a microcomputer 310 which is soprogrammed as to control the sampling apparatus 26 and the othercomponents of the urinalysis unit 14 in a manner shown in the flowchartdescribed later. The output of the polarographic cell 204 is amplifiedby an amplifier 312 and is fed to an analog-to-digital (A/D) convertercircuit of the microcomputer 310. A urine sensor 314 is adapted tomonitor the electric resistance of the gap defined between the urinedetection electrodes 126 and 128 of the urine sampling vessel 96 to seeif urine has accumulated in the urine pool 118 of the sampling vessel96, the output of the urine sensor being delivered to the A/D convertercircuit of the microcomputer 310. The microcomputer 310 drives the swingarm drive motor 138, the rotary valve drive motor 214, piston drivemotor 206, and a solenoid valve 316 for controlling supply of water tothe spray nozzle 184, through respective driver circuits. Themicrocomputers 300 and 310 are connected with each other by acommunication cable 318 to transfer data and signals via transceivers320 and 322 by serial communication process.

A mode of use and operation of the sampling apparatus 26 and theurinalysis unit 14 will be described by way of an example with referencealso to the schematic view of FIG. 18 and the flowchart of FIGS. 20. Asthe user presses on the urinalysis start switch 302a or 302b, themicrocomputer 310 drives the swing arm drive motor 138 to move the urinesampling vessel 96 to a predetermined urine sampling position and thenplaces the sampling vessel 96 in a desired position in response to thefine adjustment switches 302c or 302d. As positioning of the samplingvessel is thus completed, the user may urinate toward the samplingvessel to have urine sampling started. As accumulation of urine in theurine pool 118 of the sampling vessel 96 is detected based on the signalfrom the urine sensor 314, the microcomputer 310 energizes the rotaryvalve drive motor 214 to connect the pumping chamber 212 of the syringepump 52 to the sampling vessel 96. With the rotary valve in thisposition, the microcomputer 310 energizes the piston drive motor 206 ofthe syringe pump 52 to move the piston 210 on the downward stroke tocause about 2 ml, for example, of urine to be drawn into the pumpingchamber of the syringe pump 52.

Then the rotary valve is again rotated so as to connect the syringe pump52 to the discharge conduit 220. In this state, the piston drive motor206 is energized to lift the piston of the syringe pump 52 so that apart of urine in the pumping cheer is discharged through the dischargeconduit 220 into the bowl of the toilet bowl fixture 12. This permitsair bleeding of the pumping cheer so that air bubbles are prevented frombeing forwarded to the polarographic flow cell 204 even in the eventthat air has been drawn in the pumping chamber together with urinesample.

The rotary valve is again driven until the pumping chamber 212 isconnected to the polarographic flow cell 204. Then the piston of thesyringe pump 52 is further lifted until about 10-20 μl of urine sampleis injected toward the flow cell. The rotary valve is again rotated toconnect the pumping chamber to the discharge conduit 220 whereupon thepiston is lifted to the full stroke so as to evacuate the pumpingchamber by discarding any excessive urine through the conduit 220 intothe bowl 16.

The pumping chamber of the syringe pump 52 is rinsed with water afterinjection of urine sample. This is done by rotating the rotary valve toconnect the pumping chamber of the syringe pump 52 with the cistern 20,by descending the piston to draw water from the cistern into the pumpingchamber, by driving the rotary valve to connect the pumping chamber tothe discharge conduit 220, and by lifting the piston. Rinsing of thepumping chamber may be carried out for more than a cycle.

Then the rotary valve is again rotated until the syringe pump 52 isconnected to the carrier liquid reservoir 54. The carrier liquid in thereservoir 54 serves to transfer the urine sample to the polarographicflow cell 204 as well as to dilute the urine sample being delivered tothe flow cell 204. The carrier liquid also serves as a buffer solutionthat provides buffer effect necessary for the stable operation of thepolarographic flow cell. To this end, the carrier liquid may containvarious additives including hydrogen ion concentration conditioningagent such as KH₂ PO₄ and Na₂ HPO₄, chlorine ion intensity conditioningagent such as KCl, and antiseptic. When the syringe pump 52 is connectedto the carrier liquid reservoir 54 as mentioned before, the syringe pump52 is operated to draw the carrier liquid from the reservoir 54 into thepumping chamber 212. The rotary valve is again rotated and the piston210 is lifted to inject the carrier liquid toward the flow cell whereby10-20 μl of previously injected urine sample is transferred to thepolarographic flow cell 204 while being mixed with and diluted by thecarrier liquid, the mixture traversed the flow cell being dischargedinto the bowl of the toilet. The speed of injection of the carrierliquid may be controlled such that the urine sample flows past the flowcell after it is diluted by the carrier liquid for at least 30 folds.The amount of injection of the carrier liquid may be selected to beabout 2-4 ml per cycle. With this amount, the polarographic flow cell204 will be filled again with fresh carrier liquid after the mixture ofurine sample and carrier liquid has flown past the flow cell.

As the mixture of urine sample and carrier liquid flows past thepolarographic flow cell 204, the flow cell will output an electricsignal according to the glucose content in the mixture. The signal isamplified by the amplifier 312 and is sent to the A/D converter circuitof the microcomputer 310 for conversion into a digital datum which istransmitted to the microcomputer 300 of the control unit 32 by serialcommunication. The microcomputer 300 computes the urinal glucose contentbased on the digital datum representing the electric current anddisplays it on the display panel 304. The data of urinal glucose contentare also stored in the flash memory 308. The microcomputer 300 is alsoprogrammed to derive the trend of urinalysis and to output it throughthe printer unit 306 in response to the instructions of the user.

Upon completion of urinalysis or urine sampling, the microcomputer 310energizes the swing arm drive motor 138 to return the sampling vessel 96to the storage position A shown in FIG. 9. Then the solenoid valve 316is open to supply water under pressure to the spray nozzle 184 wherebythe sampling vessel 96 is cleansed with water.

As urinalysis is repeated, the output of the polarographic flow cell 204will be decreased as time elapses. Therefore, it is desirable toperiodically calibrate the flow cell output. To this end, a calibrationsolution consisting of a standard glucose solution of a given knownglucose concentration is stored in the reservoir 56 and is periodicallyforwarded to the flow cell in place of the urine sample to periodicallydetect and measure the flow cell output with respect to the standardglucose solution. During actual urinalysis, the flow cell output for theurine sample may be compensated for in accordance with the flow celloutput with respect to the standard glucose solution to derive theurinal glucose content.

Referring to FIGS. 21 and 22, the second embodiment of the urinesampling apparatus according to the invention will be described. Theprimary difference from the first embodiment described before is thatthe drive 98 of the sampling apparatus 26 is arranged in the left-handlateral portion 22L of the housing. Accordingly, parts and membersidentical or similar to the foregoing first embodiment are indicated inFIG. 21 by like reference numerals and only the differences will bedescribed. In this embodiment, a conventional toilet seat 400 is hingedto the housing 22. A swing arm drive, not shown, similar to the drive 98of the first embodiment is mounted to the frame 34 of the housing 22 tomove the sampling vessel 96 within the inner space of the bowl. Theshaft of the swing arm 94B is made longer than that of the firstembodiment so as to extend through a slot 402 formed in the housinglateral portion 22L and to project above the bowl 16 by overlying therim 78 of the bowl fixture 12.

A case 406 provided with a storage and washing section 404 is mounted tothe housing lateral portion 22L to store the swing arm 94B in itsstorage position and to wash the sampling vessel in that position. Asshown in FIG. 22, the case 406 is situated inwardly of the rim 78 of thebowl fixture and is adapted to rest on the rim 78, the storage andwashing section 404 being provided with a spray nozzle, not shown,similar to the nozzle 184 of the first embodiment. In the secondembodiment, sampling of urine may be carried out by positioning thesampling vessel 96 by the rotational and translational movements of theswing arm 94B in a manner similar to the first embodiment. However, thesampling vessel 96 may be brought within the storage and washing section404 only by the rotational movement of the swing arm and may be storedinwardly of the rim 78 as shown in FIG. 22. In other respects, theoperation of the second embodiment is similar to the first embodimentand need not be described.

FIGS. 23 and 24 illustrate a urinalysis unit provided with a moresimplified third embodiment of the urine sampling apparatus according tothe invention. Parts and members identical or similar to those of thefirst embodiment are designated by like reference numerals. The featureof the third embodiment is that the sampling vessel 96 is moved betweenthe sampling and storage positions only by the rotational movement ofthe swing arm 94. Accordingly, the electrical drive for the swing arm 94is simplified.

Referring to FIGS. 23 and 24, the urinalysis unit 500 is designed suchthat in use it is hooked on the rim 78 of the toilet bowl fixture. Theurinalysis unit 500 includes a housing 502 which may be comprised of anupper half and a lower half snap fitted with each other. Received in thehousing 502 are a urinalysis device 50 with a polarographic flow cell,an electric syringe pump 52, a carrier liquid reservoir 54, acalibration solution reservoir (not shown) and a control circuit (notshown) which are similar, respectively, to those of the firstembodiment.

The swing arm 94 of the urine sampling apparatus 504 is journaled at theupper part of the housing 502 and is adapted to be rotated in the bowl16 of the toilet fixture 12 by a motor 506 and a gear train. The housing502 is provided with a vertically extending lug 508 which serves as ahook for hooking the urinalysis unit 500 on the rim 78 of the bowlfixture. The housing 502 is further provided with a support 510 which iscurved along the inner contour of the rim 78 and which is provided atthe free end with a storage and washing case 512 for storing and washingthe sampling vessel 96. The case 512 is provided with a horizontal lug514 adapted to rest on the rim 78 so that when the urinalysis unit 500is hooked on the rim 78, the case 512 is located and supported by therim. A spray nozzle 516 is mounted to the case 512 to wash the samplingvessel 96 placed within the case 512. Water to the nozzle 516 issupplied through a conduit 518 connected to the water line, the watersupply being controlled by a solenoid valve, not shown, arranged in thehousing 502.

In this embodiment, as a urinalysis start switch 520 provided on theupper part of the housing 502 is depressed, the motor 506 is rotated tobring the swing arm 94 to a sampling position solely by the rotationalmovement to start urine sampling. Thereafter the urine sample istransferred to the flow cell of the urinalysis device 50 together withthe carrier liquid and the results of urinalysis are indicated on adisplay panel 522 provided on the upper part of the housing 502 in amanner similar to the first embodiment described before. The advantageof this embodiment is that the drive mechanism for the swing arm 94 issimplified and that the urinalysis unit 500 is readily mounted to astandard toilet bowl fixture.

FIGS. 25-31 illustrate the fourth embodiment of the urine samplingapparatus according to the invention. The feature of this embodiment isthat the sampling apparatus is mounted to the toilet seat and that theurine sampling vessel is moved only by the rotational movement of theswing arm. In addition, the urine sampling vessel when not in use isadapted to be stored in the vicinity of the inner periphery of thefrontal part of the rim of the toilet bowl fixture.

Referring to FIG. 25, the urine sampling apparatus 600 includes a frameor case 602 which is suitably secured to the underside of the toiletseat 604 by means such as screws. The frame 602 is arcuated along thecontour of the toilet seat in such a manner as to be substantiallyconcealed beneath the toilet seat when affixed to the seat. A swing arm606 is swingably mounted to the frame 602 and is adapted to be moved bya swing arm drive 608. To this end, the swing arm 606 is provided with aspindle 610 which is rotatably supported by the frame 602 by a pair ofbearings 612 and 614 as best shown in FIG. 26. The spindle 610 isrotated by a stepping motor 616 via a belt drive. To this end, thespindle 610 is provided with a driven gear 618 which is held inengagement with a cogged belt 620.

As will be apparent from FIG. 25, the motor 616 is arranged rearwardlyof, and is spaced considerably away from, the spindle 610 of the swingarm 606. As shown in FIG. 27, the toilet seat 604 is provided at theunderside thereof with a concavity 622 which is adapted to accommodatethe upper parts of the motor 616 and the belt 620. Since the motor 616is arranged in this manner rearwardly of the frame and the concavity 622is correspondingly formed in the rear part of the toilet seat 604 inwhich an increased thickness of the seat is available, it is possible toenlarge the size of the concavity 622 and, hence, to install a largermotor.

As shown in FIG. 28, an output shaft of the motor 616 is splined to aspindle 624 which is rotatably supported through a pair of bearings 628and 630 by a bearing block 626 secured to the frame 602. The spindle 626is provided with a driving gear 632 engaged by the belt 620. As aresult, the swing arm 606 will be rotated in response to the rotation ofthe motor 616. In order to precisely control the angular position of theswing arm, it is desirable to take up any slack in the belt 620. Forthis reason, an upwardly spring biased slider 633 is arranged on theframe 602 and a conventional tension pulley, not shown for simplicity ofdrawing, is mounted on the slider in such a manner as to engage thelower run of the belt 620, as shown in FIG. 25. The space which housesthe motor 616 and the belt drive is sealed in a waterproof fashion by apacking 634 sandwiched between the frame 602 and the lower surface ofthe toilet seat.

The swing arm 606 is provided at its lower end 636 with a urine samplingvessel 638. As will be apparent from FIG. 29, the lower end 636 of theswing arm 606 is rearwardly offset in a staggered fashion with respectto the spindle 610 and, hence, with respect to the radius 606A of theswing arm 606, to ensure that the urine sampling vessel 638 ispositioned rearwardly as far as possible when the swing arm 606 isrotated to the rearmost extremity position. With this arrangement, it ispossible to adapt the sampling vessel to a urine column tending to fallrelatively rearwardly of the bowl as in the case of a female user, whileusing a shortened swing arm.

As best shown in FIG. 30, the urine sampling vessel 638 has a shallowbilge-like configuration extending transversely of the toilet bowlfixture and is provided at the bottom thereof with a urine pool or sump640. Similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, an L-shaped suction pipe642 opens toward the bottom of the urine pool 640 and a pair of sheathedelectrodes 644 and 646 project into the urine pool. In order to avoidthat these electrodes are inadvertently short-circuited due to theresidual droplet of washing water tending to adhere thereto and totherefore avoid erroneous detection of accumulation of urine, theseelectrodes are exposed only at their free ends with the remainderthereof being sheathed by an insulating material. In addition, oneelectrode 644 is made longer than the other 646. With this arrangement,the electrodes can be arranged closely with each other since anyinadvertent short-circuiting of the electrodes is prevented. As aresult, it is possible to reduce the size of the urine pool 640 and toenhance the efficiency of suction through the suction pipe 642.

In the illustrated embodiment, the urine sampling vessel 638 iscomprised of an upright annular side wall 648, a bottom wall 650, afront wall 652 inclined rearwardly toward the bottom wall 650, and aright-hand wall 654 inclined leftwards toward the bottom wall 650, theurine sampling vessel 638 as a whole presenting a generally flatconfiguration. The rear right-hand portion 648A of the annular side wall648 is inclined forwardly as shown in FIGS. 29 and 30 for reasonsdescribed later.

The inlet opening of the urine sampling vessel 638 is covered by ametallic screen 656 similarly to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8to prevent splash of urine impinging upon the urine sampling vessel 638as well as to prevent foreign material from entering into the vessel.The L-shaped suction pipe 642 is connected to a flexible tube 658extending through the inner space of the hollow swing arm 606. The tube658 is further extended through the inner space of the hollow spindle610 and is directed rearwardly through a window 660 in the spindle 610as shown in FIG. 26 for connection to the syringe pump. Similarly, theurine sensing electrodes 644 and 646 are connected, respectively, tolead wires 662 and 664 that extend the inner spaces of the swing arm andthe spindle 610. These lead wires are connected to the control circuitof the urinalysis device in a manner described before.

As shown in FIG. 25, the frame 602 of the urine sampling apparatus 600extends along the contour of the toilet seat up to the frontal part ofthe toilet seat. As will be apparent from FIGS. 25 and 31, the frame 602is formed with a channel-shaped wall 666 defining a storage and washingchamber 668 open downwardly toward the toilet bowl. A spray nozzle 670is directed toward the storage and washing chamber 668 to spray waterunder pressure toward the urine sampling vessel 638 as returned to theposition indicated by the solid line in FIG. 31 so as to cleanse theurine sampling vessel 638 after use. The spray nozzle 670 may be securedto a mounting block 672 fixed to the frame 602 and may be supplied withwater under pressure through a water hose 674 connected via a solenoidvalve to a water line in a manner similar to the foregoing embodiment.The size of the channel-shaped wall 666 is decreased at the rear part toform a drainage trough 676.

When not in use, the urine sampling vessel 638 is positioned within thestorage and washing chamber 668 as shown by the solid line in FIG. 31 sothat the toilet seat 604 can be rotated together with the urine samplingvessel 638. Similar to the foregoing embodiment, the toilet seat 604 inits operative position rests upon the rim 680 of the bowl fixture by wayof cushioned support legs, two of which are indicated in FIG. 26 by thereference numeral 678, with the other two, not shown, being arranged atthe underside of the frame 602.

Since the urine sampling vessel 638 is made substantially flat, it willassume a generally vertical position when stored in the storage andwashing chamber 668 as shown by the solid line in FIG. 31, so that theurine sampling vessel 638 can readily be stored in the narrow washingchamber 668. As a result, it is possible to minimize the fore-and-aftdimension of the storage and washing chamber 668 to ensure that thewashing chamber 668 is concealed under the toilet seat 604 as far aspossible to provide a toilet seat assembly which has a neat appearance.

For sampling of urine released from a male user, the urine samplingvessel 638 may be positioned inclined in the vicinity of the position Ashown by the imaginary line in FIG. 31. In this position, the inletopening of the urine sampling vessel 638 is inclined forwardly so thatthe urine column ejected forwardly from the user's penis and tending tofall upon the relatively frontal part of the toilet bowl will intersectthe inlet opening of the urine sampling vessel 638 generallyperpendicularly thereto. Accordingly, the urine sampling vessel 638receives urine by utilizing the full area of the inlet opening. Theshower of urine fallen on the inclined front wall 652 of the samplingvessel will flow toward the rearwardly located urine sump 640 and willaccumulate the rein as shown by the hatched area in FIG. 31.Accordingly, urine is drawn from the L-shaped suction pipe 642 withoutinvolving air bubble.

In the case of female, urine column tends to fall vertically andrearwardly of the bowl as opposed to male's position. Therefore, whenthe user is female, the urine sampling vessel 638 may be positionedgenerally horizontally in the vicinity of the position B shown by theimaginary line. In this position, the inlet opening of the urinesampling vessel 638 will assume a generally horizontal posture so thatthe inlet opening will be perpendicular to the vertically falling urinecolumn. As a result, urine released from the female user is effectivelycollected. The inclined frontal and right-hand walls 652 and 654 willact to direct urine impinged on the urine sampling vessel 638 to flowtoward the urine pool 640. Collected urine is accumulated in the urinepool as shown by the hatched area in FIG. 31 and is drawn by the suctionpipe 642. The sampling vessel 638 may be moved to the extremity positionC in accordance with the instructions by the user.

After urine sampling, the urine sampling vessel 638 is returned to theposition shown by the solid line in FIG. 31. Similar to the precedingembodiments, the solenoid valve is then opened to cause the spray nozzle670 to eject washing water. Ejected water forms a spray which washes theouter part of the sampling vessel 638. A part of spray will be reboundedforwardly by the inner surface of the wall 666 of the washing chamber668 and will penetrate through the now vertically oriented metal screen656 of the sampling vessel 638 to enter into the inside of the vesselthereby to cleanse the inside of the sampling vessel. Because the rearright-hand portion 648A of the side wall 648 of the sampling vessel isinclined forwardly, washing water as entered into the inside of thevessel will be guided by the wall portion 648A to flow toward thesuction pipe 642 and the electrodes 642 and 646 to wash themeffectively. Moreover, washing water thus collected toward the suctionpipe 642 permits the syringe pump to draw washing water therethroughthereby to wash the inner passages of the suction pipe and the urinetransfer tube 658. In order to prevent foreign material from enteringthe sampling vessel, it is preferable that the mesh of the metal screen656 is selected to be as small as possible and at least smaller than theinner diameter of the suction pipe 642. However, the smaller the mesh,the more difficult it will be for the spray of washing water topenetrate across the screen. Due to the presence of the inclined sidewall portion 648A, however, the limited amount of washing water whichhas entered inside of the sampling vessel is effectively utilized towash the interior of the vessel. As the sampling vessel 638 is now inthe vertical position, used water is allowed to promptly flow outtherefrom and to fall from the downwardly opened storage and washingchamber 668 into the bowl. When the toilet seat is swung up, theresidual droplets of cleansing water will be guided by the drainagetrough 676 to flow to the rear of the frame and drained into rear partof the bowl 16.

While the present invention has been described herein with reference tothe specific embodiments thereof, it is contemplated that the presentinvention is not limited thereby and various changes and modificationmay be made the rein. For instance, while the drive 98 for the swing arm94 has been described as having a rack and pinion mechanism and a leverand cam mechanism driven by a common motor, the rotational movement andthe translational movement of the swing arm may be produced by separatemotors. While the control system of the urinalysis unit has beendescribed as comprising the control unit installed on the toilet walland the control circuit arranged in the housing, these parts may beintegrated into a single unit.

We claim:
 1. A combination comprising: a toilet seat having asubstantially sealed hollow structure and suitable to be positionedabove a rim of a toilet bowl fixture at a predetermined distancetherefrom; a casing mounted to the underside of said toilet seat in sucha manner as to be accommodated in a space defined between said rim andsaid toilet seat; a swing arm provided on an end thereof with ahorizontal shaft rotatably supported by said casing and supporting aurine sampling vessel at the other end; and a powered drive mechanismmounted to said casing for driving said swing arm in such a manner thatsaid sampling vessel is moved between a storage position situatedunderneath the frontal part of said toilet seat and a urine samplingposition situated within the inner space of said bowl fixture.
 2. Acombination according to claim 1, wherein said toilet seat is providedat the underside thereof with a downwardly directed concavity in whichsaid drive mechanism is accommodated in part.
 3. An apparatus forsampling urine excreted by an individual seated on a toilet seat at atoilet equipped with a standard water closet bowl fixture, saidapparatus comprising:a frame adapted to be supported by said bowlfixture; an elongated urine sampling vessel having a substantiallyhorizontal axis; a swing arm having one end pivotally supported by saidframe and the other end supporting said sampling vessel in such a mannerthat said axis of said sampling vessel extends substantiallyperpendicular to the vertical central plane of said bowl fixture; anddrive means for driving said swing arm in such a manner that saidsampling vessel is moved between a rest position situated adjacent tothe frontal part of a rim of said bowl fixture and a urine samplingposition situated within the inner space of the bowl.
 4. A urinesampling apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said urine samplingvessel is provided with a generally rectangular inlet opening having alonger axis parallel to said horizontal axis, said inlet openingextending substantially perpendicular to the radius of said swing arm toeffectively receive urine released into the bowl.
 5. A urine samplingapparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a downwardly-openwashing chamber disposed inwardly of and adjacent to the inner peripheryof the frontal part of the rim of said bowl fixture and cleansing meansfor ejecting water into said washing chamber, said urine sampling vesselbeing brought after use in said washing chamber and washed with water,used water being drained into the bowl.
 6. A urine sampling apparatusaccording to claim 5, wherein said sampling vessel has a generally flatconfiguration with a low circumferential side wall and a wide bottomwall to provide a maximum content when said sampling vessel is held in ahorizontal position as well as to facilitate storage of said samplingvessel in said washing chamber of a limited fore-and-aft dimension whenheld in a vertical position.
 7. A urine sampling apparatus according toclaim 6, wherein said sampling vessel has a urine pool located adjacentthe rear part of said side wall and an inclined front wall inclinedtoward said urine pool to permit urine impinged upon said front wall toflow toward said urine pool.
 8. A urine sampling apparatus according toclaim 7, wherein said urine pool is situated adjacent the left-handportion of said side wall, said sampling vessel further having aninclined right-hand wall inclined toward said urine pool to permit urineimpinged upon said right-hand wall to flow toward said urine pool.
 9. Aurine sampling apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said toiletincludes a toilet seat pivotally supported by said bowl fixture andwherein, when not in use, said sampling vessel in said rest position isconcealed at least in part by the frontal part of said toilet seat. 10.A urine sampling apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said frame ismounted to said toilet seat and wherein said frame extends for apredetermined length along the contour of said toilet seat in such amanner as to be substantially concealed by said toilet seat.
 11. A urinesampling apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said frame is mountedto the underside of said toilet seat in a vertical space defined by therim of said bowl fixture and the toilet seat and wherein said drivemeans is mounted to said frame.
 12. A urine sampling apparatus accordingto claim 11, wherein said toilet seat is provided with a downwardly openconcavity and wherein said drive means is arranged in a space formed bysaid concavity and the rim of said bowl fixture.
 13. A urine samplingapparatus according to claim 12, wherein said toilet seat has asubstantially sealed hollow structure.
 14. A urine sampling apparatusaccording to claim 12, wherein said drive means is accommodated at leastin part in said downwardly open concavity.
 15. A urine samplingapparatus according to claim 3, wherein said frame is secured to ahousing mounted on said bowl fixture.
 16. A urine sampling apparatusaccording to claim 3, wherein said frame is detachably mounted to therim of said bowl fixture.
 17. A urine sampling apparatus according toclaim 3, wherein said sampling vessel includes a urine pool and urinecollecting means inclined toward said urine pool.
 18. A urine samplingapparatus according to claim 17, wherein a suction pipe for urine sampleopens toward the lower part of said urine pool.
 19. A urine samplingapparatus according to claim 18, wherein said swing arm is rotatablebetween a substantially horizontal position and a substantially verticalposition and wherein said suction pipe is arranged at such an angle thatan inlet of said suction pipe is directed substantially verticallydownwardly when said swing arm is inclined at an angle of about 45°. 20.A urine sampling apparatus according to claim 18, wherein a urine sampletransfer conduit in communication with said suction pipe is extendedinside of at least part of said swing arm.
 21. A urine samplingapparatus according to claim 17, wherein said sampling vessel isdetachably mounted to said other end of said swing arm.
 22. A urinesampling apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said sampling vesselcomprises means for detecting that urine has accumulated in said urinepool to a predetermined level.
 23. A urine sampling apparatus accordingto claim 9, wherein said drive means is operable to move said samplingvessel between said rest position and said urine sampling position onlyby rotational movement.
 24. A urine sampling apparatus according toclaim 23, wherein said other end of said swing arm is rearwardly offsetin a staggered fashion with respect to the radius of rotation of saidswing arm so as to support said sampling vessel rearwardly offsettherefrom.
 25. A urine sampling apparatus according to claim 23, whereinsaid drive means includes an electric motor.
 26. A urine samplingapparatus according to claim 25, wherein said frame is mounted to thetoilet seat and wherein said motor is mounted to said frame rearwardlyof said one end of said swing arm, said drive means further comprising abelt drive for transmitting the rotation of said motor to said swingarm.
 27. A urine sampling apparatus according to claim 26, wherein saidtoilet seat is provided with a downwardly open concavity and whereinsaid motor is received partly in said concavity.
 28. A urine samplingapparatus according to claim 3, wherein said drive means comprises arotational drive mechanism for rotating said swing arm and atranslational drive mechanism for translating said swing arm back andforth so as to move said sampling vessel between said rest position andsaid sampling position by rotational movement as well as bytranslational movement.
 29. A urine sampling apparatus according toclaim 28, wherein said drive means is operable to rotate said samplingvessel between a first position substantially concealed by the frontalpart of the toilet seat and a second position situated in the bowl spaceand located rearwardly and downwardly of said first position and isoperable to translate said sampling vessel back and forth between saidsecond position and a third position located horizontally rearwardly ofsaid second position.
 30. A urine sampling apparatus according to claim28, wherein said drive means is operable to rotate and translate saidsampling vessel between a first position substantially concealed by thefrontal part of the toilet seat and a second position situated in thebowl space and located rearwardly and downwardly of said first positionand is operable to translate said sampling vessel back and forth betweensaid second position and a third position located horizontallyrearwardly of said second position.
 31. A urine sampling apparatusaccording to claim 29 or 30, wherein sampling of urine from a male useris carried out while said sampling vessel is positioned between saidfirst and second positions and sampling of urine from a female user iscarried out while said sampling vessel is positioned between said secondand third positions.
 32. A urine sampling apparatus according to claim28, wherein said drive means is operable to translate said samplingvessel back and forth between a first position situated above the rim ofsaid bowl fixture and a second position situated horizontally rearwardlyof said first position and inwardly of the inner periphery of the rim,to rotate said sampling vessel between said second position and a thirdposition situated in the bowl space and located rearwardly anddownwardly of said second position, and to translate said samplingvessel back and forth between said third position and a fourth positionlocated horizontally rearwardly of said third position.
 33. A urinesampling apparatus according to claim 28, wherein said drive means isoperable to translate said sampling vessel back and forth between afirst position situated above the rim of said bowl fixture and a secondposition situated horizontally rearwardly of said first position andinwardly of the inner periphery of the rim, to rotate and translate saidsampling vessel between said second position and a third positionsituated in the bowl space and located rearwardly and downwardly of saidsecond position, and to translate said sampling vessel back and forthbetween said third position and a fourth position located horizontallyrearwardly of said third position.
 34. A urine sampling apparatusaccording to claim 32 or 33, wherein sampling of urine from a male useris carried out while said sampling vessel is positioned between saidsecond and third positions and sampling of urine from a female user iscarried out while said sampling vessel is positioned between said thirdand fourth positions.
 35. A urine sampling apparatus according to claim28, wherein said translational drive mechanism includes a sliderrotatably supporting said one end of said swing arm and guided by saidframe for back and forth movement and wherein said rotational drivemechanism includes a motion converting mechanism for converting the backand forth movement of said slider into the rotational movement of saidswing arm.
 36. A urine sampling apparatus according to claim 35, whereinsaid translational drive mechanism includes a single motor and a pinionand rack mechanism which are arranged in such a manner that therotational movement and the translational movement are imparted to saidswing arm by said single motor.
 37. A urine sampling apparatus accordingto claim 35, wherein said translational drive mechanism includes amechanism selected from the group consisting of a pulley and beltmechanism, a lead screw mechanism, a hydraulic cylinder mechanism and asolenoid mechanism.
 38. A urine sampling apparatus according to claim35, wherein said motion converting mechanism includes a lever, with acam follower, interconnected with said swing arm and a cam with whichsaid cam follower is engaged, said cam having a flat cam surface formedto permit only the translational movement of said swing arm and aninclined cam surface formed to generate a rotational movement of saidswing arm in response to the translational movement of said slider. 39.A urine sampling apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said swing armis arcuated along the inner periphery of said toilet seat.
 40. A urinesampling apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising cleansingmeans, including a spray nozzle, for washing with water said urinesampling vessel as brought to said rest position.
 41. A urine samplingapparatus according to claim 40, further comprising a substantiallyenclosed washing chamber disposed in a space defined between the rim ofsaid bowl fixture and said toilet seat and having a gateway accessibleby said sampling vessel, said sampling vessel being washed in saidwashing chamber after use.
 42. A urine sampling apparatus according toclaim 41, wherein said spray nozzle is arranged laterally of saidsampling vessel in substantially the same horizontal plane as saidsampling vessel in said rest position and is directed substantiallyhorizontally toward said sampling vessel to ensure that said samplingvessel is washed in said washing chamber of a limited vertical dimensiondefined between the rim and the toilet seat.
 43. A urine samplingapparatus according to claim 42, wherein a swingable cover is providedat said gateway of said washing chamber, said cover being closed duringwashing to prevent water from splashing outwardly from said gateway. 44.A urine sampling apparatus according to claim 43, wherein an actuatingmechanism is provided to open and close said cover in response to themovement of said sampling vessel, said actuating mechanism beingoperable to automatically close said cover as said sampling vessel isreturned into said washing chamber.
 45. A urine sampling apparatusaccording to claim 41, wherein at least one drainage channel extendingfrom said washing chamber along said toilet seat to the rear part ofsaid toilet seat is provided to discharge used water from said washingchamber into the rear part of the bowl.
 46. A urine sampling apparatusaccording to claim 45, wherein the rear end of said drainage channel isconnected to a drain pipe, said drain pipe being arranged to projectinwardly of the bowl, as viewed in a plan view, to permit water to fallinto the bowl when the toilet seat is swung up.
 47. A urine samplingapparatus according to claim 45, wherein said drainage channel isinclined downwardly from the frontal part to the rear part of the toiletseat to permit water in said washing chamber to be discharged even whenthe toilet seat is held in a horizontal position.
 48. A urine samplingapparatus according to claim 40, further comprising a second spraynozzle for washing said swing arm.
 49. A urine sampling apparatusaccording to claim 3, further comprising a downwardly-open storagechamber disposed inwardly of and adjacent to the inner periphery of thefrontal part of the rim of said bowl fixture for storing said urinesampling vessel after use, said sampling vessel having a generally flatconfiguration with a low circumferential side wall and a wide bottomwall to provide a maximum content when said sampling vessel is held in ahorizontal position as well as to facilitate storage of said samplingvessel in said storage chamber of a limited fore-and-aft dimension whenheld in a vertical position.